Various types of establishments, such as office buildings, educational facilities, recreational facilities, restaurants and shopping centers provide areas such as restrooms, showers, and changing rooms where users normally require or desire some level of privacy. In order to provide such privacy, partitions or partition systems may be used to provide areas or stalls (e.g., a bathroom stall, a shower stall, or a changing room) for private, individual use. A partition system typically includes panels and doors installed on a frame that define one or more stalls or changing rooms. In conventional partition systems a pilaster is provided on either side of each door. Pilasters are rectangular structures that may be several inches wide that extend from the floor.
The art has been concerned with creating partition systems in which there are no sight lines between the partitions, pilasters and doors that would enable one who is outside of the stall to see into the stall when the door is closed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,987,635 B2, 8,726,578 D613,882 S, D632,769 S and D664,268 S disclose partition systems in which there is a projection on the door that extends into a recess on the adjacent pilaster to define a seam that prevents a line of sight from being established through the seam when the door is in the closed position. Alternatively, the projection may be on the pilaster and the recess may be in the edge of the door. One shortcoming of the system disclosed in these patents, as well as other partition systems that have pilasters, is that the pilasters are obstructions to mopping the floor making some areas near and the pilaster more difficult to reach and clean.
In conventional partition systems the edges of the partitions or panels fit within U-shaped or H-shaped frames. In the case of stainless steel partitions the hardware finish matches that of the partitions in an effort to make the hardware less noticeable. In other partition systems in which the frames are a different color and may be made from a different material, the partitions and frames are painted the same color to make the hardware less noticeable. Yet in both systems the hardware is visible. U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,302 discloses an example of this type of metal framing system. That patent shows a partition system in which the panels slide into a U-shaped metal frame and the metal is clearly visible on the outside and inside of the partition system. Architects and designers have expressed a need for a more modern looking, less industrial looking, cleaner aesthetic—the industrial look coming from bulky, visible hardware throughout the system.
Partition systems, particularly those used in bathrooms and shower rooms, are often installed in a room in which the floor is not level and slopes toward a drain. It is important that the doors and partitions as well as the head rail above the doors and partitions be level. In conventional systems the pilasters and posts are placed in shoes that are attached to the floor and enable the pilaster or post to be adjusted up and down. However, such movement may cause misalignment between adjacent doors and cause the head rail to be titled. Such misalignment may be a problem for installers if the pilasters and posts have predrilled holes for attachment of the doors and frame elements.
There is a need for a partition system in which the doors and partitions are supported on spaced apart posts and there are no pilasters. Such a system will have a small footprint making the floor beneath the partition system easier to clean. This partition system should have no sight lines between the partitions and doors that would enable one who is outside of the stall to see a person who is in the stall when the door is closed.
There is also a need for a partition system that can be installed in a room having a sloping or uneven floor and in which the doors, partitions and head rail can be easily leveled.